"Endnotes" - January 22, 2021

[woozy]

I have no idea what plastic used for making lenses has to do with music.

*Sigh*

I know what I have done so far must be the way to the answer but... the answer I get is all about plastic lenses....

[JaneGummy]

As usual for this meta newbie, I wasted a lot of time with my head down fruitless rabbit holes. I was SOOOO excited when I figured out the first step, but now at another dead end. I'm gonna give it a rest, maybe something will pop tomorrow.

[jakenherman]

I needed nudging on last week's meta, trying to do this one without hints, but it's got me all turned around at the moment. Grid has been finished for a while, but no luck on the meta yet. Going to take a break and try again later tonight. I've tried so many different paths that I was just so sure were correct.

[michaelm]

On shore.
Will now search further for the elegance without the pressure of first finding that elegance
Good luck to all!

[Jud]

On shore.

[debbierudy]

Ashore, and glad of it after last week's time on the ship. And one of these answers is my ancestor!

[KDubs]

NOT asking for hints, but do you have to be a musician to find the meta? I’m seeing nothing and 68A is making me nervous I don’t have the skills to solve.

On shore, no question! Thanks to those who reached out and told me to keep at it. It is *definitely* get-able even if you aren’t musically inclined

[gdshort]

Got it, after a convivial evening with Isaac....

[Bird Lives]

On shore at last.

My first guess was that the answer was going to be Pachelbel’s Canon (or maybe Telemann’s Nikon) because for the last few decades it seems to be unavoidable. But I got stuck in an endless loop between repeat signs.

Whenever I do a puzzle in .puz and can’t solve the meta, I eventually remember why I shouldn’t do the puzzle in .puz. That allowed me to leave Isaac’s bar and reach the final bar.

I see how solvers can get the right answer but miss the pleasure of taking the scenic route. It makes me want to create a puzzle that uses a similar mechanism but requires a different path to the solution. I probably won’t do it —that takes work — but at least I have the idea.

[C=64]

Checking in from the ship. I have a clear idea of what I think the mechanism *should* be, but if I apply it narrowly I can't squeeze six letters out of it, and if I apply it more broadly I get umpteen possible letters.

[matty_p]

I think I'm still wading, in that I have an answer I'm confident it but without the elegance. Maybe I wormholed through, but I'm not going to submit until I find the elegance. Had two hiccoughs in the grid; maybe that threw me off this morning. Looking at it over afternoon tea didn't bring any elegance, so I think it's Saturday's problem now. Maybe the little grey cells will work while I sleep tonight.

[Scott M]

I got nothin'.

[woozy]

Got it! There was just one step further I had to do.

I hope it's not too much to say look at *every* part of the puzzle.

[cbarbee002]

Still nadda after thinking on this overnight. Upon reading the title and seeing the clue, I thought it would be a sprint to shore. Alas, stuck on board and asking Isaac for a double (going Buffalo Trace), hoping that will lube the brain cells.

[C=64]

Ashore! 🏖

Reprinting the puzzle and filling in the grid again helped me let go of my first approach and notice what I was missing. It all ties together.

[Thurman8er]

REALLY liked this one! Ashore!

[jhseeman]

Think I have the first step....now need to step away to let the subconscious do it's d*mn job....plus order another bourbon from Isaac.

[cinemagical]

I'm a-shore! Though un-*sure* exactly what to make of the intermediate step. Maybe just not my forte.

[Streroto]

NOT asking for hints, but do you have to be a musician to find the meta? I’m seeing nothing and 68A is making me nervous I don’t have the skills to solve.

Not at all. Keep in mind asking Mr G is completely appropriate.

[Streroto]

I believe that some people who found the path to shore rough and inelegant may have taken a shortcut. Landed in the right place, but missed some of the sights along the way.

That was me...got the right answer but was a little confused (really, annoyed) at the brute force of it. And then you showed me why the swim was so rough. Thanks!

I am ashore.

However, out of sheer paranoia, I can't help but have a pageant-y feeling. Partly because I have no music knowledge, but mostly because I generally need a lot more fluids in me, and rabbit-hole time, to finally see the method emerge. We shall see.

YO! HERE!

However, this wormhole (shortcut in space-time) seemed so glaringly obvious, that I wonder how anyone wouldn't take it. Some BRUTE FORCE CYBERNETICS ('creating a need, then filling it'*) must be called upon, from time-to-time.

EDIT 1: "Brute force," "cheatery,"and "shortcut" labels are taken as poetic license. This week's solution may set a number of characters record & require a 2nd page be added to Monday's PDF, because I don't see it fitting in the bottom-right corner. I've had a few kind muggles attempt to explain the "elegant" method. So far, only one person has shown me the full path to 2 of the 6 letters of the meta answer. Other explanations only involve one or two letters (& those aren't fully-explained), then trail off with "etc.," "and so on," "you get the idea (I don't, but that my failing)," or "I'll type out the rest when I have the time. There's not a thing wrong with the long-winded intended mechanism. The "shortcut" is a much more obvious path & is laid out clearly for solvers to see & deduce. The obvious method involves a less-than-desired mechanism (including to me) as part of its solution, but that mechanism has been used in the past and will be, again. Is a solution "more elegant" if it requires a college-ruled notebook to fully explain it (poetic license, please)? Maybe, but the creator left a simpler path to follow, so the inelegance is his, not the solvers' For solvers that have followed the simpler path, you've done nothing for which you need to apologize. [ The first 2 likes were pre-EDIT 1. ]

Miss the Party Parrot

*Any '70s-era WEBN fans out there?

Joe this was a straightforward meta for me with no inelegance. Happy to discuss privately.

Stay well